Amala is a mythological
giant
In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...
who supports the world in the mythology of the
Tsimshian
The Tsimshian (; tsi, Ts’msyan or Tsm'syen) are an Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Their communities are mostly in coastal British Columbia in Terrace, British Columbia, Terr ...
,
Nass,
Skidegate
Skidegate ( hai, Hlg̱aagilda) is a Haida community in in British Columbia, Canada. It is located on the southeast coast of Graham Island, the largest island in the archipelago, and is approximately west of mainland British Columbia across He ...
,
Kaigani, Massett, and
Tlingit
The Tlingit ( or ; also spelled Tlinkit) are indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their language is the Tlingit language (natively , pronounced ), Native Americans. He supports the
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
which he balances on a spinning pole. He receives an annual application of wild duck-oil to his muscles from a servant which brings relief to his muscles. The belief is that when all the
ducks
Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...
are hunted out, there will no longer be any duck-oil available in the world. At this point, Amala dies and the world topples off the pole and comes to an end.
The myth
The name Amala refers to his being very dirty and literally means “smoke hole.” Amala is said to be the youngest child in a family who is physically weak and lazy. He is made to sleep in the ashes and suffers mistreatment from everybody. In many variants of the myth, Amala sleeps in his urine.
Late in his life he attains supernatural strength in secret and becomes a handsome, and powerful young man who performs many daring feats and turns savior and protector for his relatives against their enemies. The concluding feat of his life is to succeed a dying chief on an island in the Southwest sea in the task of holding the Earth up. The dying chief hears of Amala's various exploits and, impressed by his prowess, calls the hero. When Amala arrives, the chief hands over the long pole upon which the flat world revolves. Some versions of the myth state that the chief places the pole on Amala's chest,
while some versions hold that the pole is held behind Amala's back. A servant relieves Amala's muscles with yearly application of spoonfuls of duck grease and wild-duck oil which help Amala to keep the world spinning.
Possible influences
There is a possibility that the myths about Amala and similar heroes of Native American mythology were influenced by the tales of
Cinderella
"Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
and
Atlas
An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth.
Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...
- the titan who carries the world on his shoulder in Greek mythology, introduced into Native American culture from
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. There is a similarity between Cinderella and Amala in that both sleep in ashes and both are abused by their tribe or family. The storyline of Amala - the despised member of the tribe who overcomes adversity and rises to be a hero among his people, may be a combination of elements of the downtrodden and derided hero or heroine, such as Cinderella, and the hero of the Atlas-type who dwells in the underworld.
See also
*
Tsimshian mythology
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amala (Mythology)
Native American giants
Legendary creatures of the indigenous peoples of North America